Peroxide for the Wound
by Firefly119
Summary: AU Remus is a 35 year old werewolf bachelor, living alone on the moors in Kent. Isabelle is a 15 year old witch who has just lost everything. They have nothing in common. Nothing that is, but DNA. About the things that keep us together and tear us apart.
1. Part One

Peroxide for the Wound

Part One

Subtitled: What you've found sure upsets you

Quote: Call it a clan, call it a network, call it a tribe, call it a family. Whatever you call it, whoever you are, you need one.

**Jane Howard, "Families"**

a/n – This is story idea I've been playing with for sometime. Adelle, from my 'Let It Snow' series with be in this as many of you asked for the continuation of her character. I own nothing in this, this is just for fun. Please Review. All characters you recognize are from JK Rowling's Harry Potter Series and the subtitles are from Dashboard Confessionals song, "if you cant let it be, might as well make it bleed.

"There must be some mistake." Mrs. Tralia said staring at the severe lawyer in front of her.

"My father's name is not Remus Lupin!" Sixteen year old Isabelle Walker cried, her dirty blonde curls toppling into her eyes. "His name is —" she swallowed painfully. "was – Jonathan Walker." She finished quietly.

"I'm afraid that's just not true." Jane Bloom a young lawyer of 28, who hadn't yet learned that her brand of professionalism alienated her clients, said smoothly without even blinking. "It says quite clearly in your mother's will that in the event of her untimely death," Isabelle shivered at Ms. Bloom's casual reference to her mother's death. "That custody was to fall to your _stepfather _Jonathan Walker, should Mr. Walker be incapacitated," Isabelle grimaced at the word but Ms. Bloom ploughed on unfeelingly "custody then falls to your biological father, a Mr. Remus Lupin."

Isabelle stared out the window, shaking her head angrily as tears filled her eyes. "How kind of her to mention that to me _before _she died." Isabelle said bitterly. An awkward silence followed and Ms. Bloom looked quite undone by this unexpected show of emotion. She began to pat her hair nervously and looked to Mrs. Tralia for some assistance. Mrs. Tralia, however, was watching Isabelle with a pained expression.

 "I want to see some kind of proof." Isabelle cried suddenly, ripping her gaze from the pristine parking lot four stories below that was lined with posies and small trees.

"Proof?" Ms. Bloom asked incredulously. The will, in her mind as a statement of the law, was all the proof anyone could ask for.

"I want to see a birth certificate or some kind of blood test!" Isabelle was undeterred by the expression on Ms. Bloom's kind. "or something. You can't really expect me to move to another country to live with a complete stranger without some kind of proof. I mean this guy could be a serial killer!"

Ms. Bloom turned to Mrs. Tralia in alarm. "Really now." She said clucking with disapproval. "I understand you've just experienced a great loss, but this behavior is completely unacceptable."

In her minds eye Isabelle heard the shrieking of tires and she saw the blinking lights through the rain, she felt her brother's clammy, little hand on her own. She shook her head violently and looked at Ms. Bloom with a quiet intensity that was most unsettling. "You have no idea of my _loss_," she spit the word out as though the poison might infect her if she kept it in her any longer.

"Surely you can procure some kind of birth certificate." Mrs. Tralia said reasonably. "I mean Isabelle's right, I can't very well send her two thousand miles away from everything she's ever known without some more substantial evidence."

Ms. Bloom rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Oh, very well." She huffed and pulled out her want. She mumbled a few words and immediately a slip of paper appeared down the length of her wand. She tugged near the middle and the slip grew to the size of a piece of paper. "There you have it." She thrust it resentfully at Mrs. Tralia.

"Thank you." Mrs. Tralia said calmly and handed the paper to Isabelle.

**Father: Remus Lupin**

**Mother's Maiden Name: Sarah Cummings**

**Name: Isabelle Ann Lupin**

**Date of Birth: September 5 **

**Place of  Birth: ****Raven Grove****, ****Kent****UK******

Isabelle suddenly felt very sick. This wasn't a dream. Her entire family was dead. Of all the people to come back from the dead, this biological father was her last choice. She stared at the sheet, her hands shaking.

"Now Mr. Lupin has been informed and has agreed to take the girl at the conclusion of this school year. I assume she shall stay with you, Mrs. Tralia, until that time?" Ms. Bloom said, getting back to business.

Mrs. Tralia nodded. "Of course." She said watching Isabelle carefully out of the corner of her eye. "It's been a very long day, Ms. Bloom, if we could wrap this up…"

"Yes all that's left is the discussion of Isabelle's inheritance." Ms. Bloom shifted some papers in her folder.

All the fire had gone out of Isabelle as she half listened to Ms. Bloom talk about her financial future. She didn't care how much was hers. She didn't care that she was well provided for. She felt like she might collapse any moment.

She heard Ms. Bloom's voice at a very great distance and all she could see and feel was that one slip of paper that seemed to weigh a hole in her hands. Suddenly she had the urge to rip it violently to pieces, to will this all to be a dream. She suddenly had a desperate thought. If only she could throw it into the fire, she could have everything back as it was. She could have her parents. Her _real_ parents. She could have her baby brother.

She could visit Alex at daycare on her lunch break again instead of eating sandwiches by his grave with it's beautiful stone that she hated with every fiber in her being. A stone that read her reality indelibly.

Like this paper.

Suddenly her attention shifted back to the paper in her hand. She couldn't destroy a grave stone, but a piece of paper….

Ms. Bloom snatched the paper from her hands, a strange look on her face. Isabelle snapped back to reality with a blush. With a tap of Ms. Bloom's wand, the paper disappeared.

"Thank you Ms. Bloom, for everything." Mrs. Tralia said, pulling Isabelle to the door. Isabelle glanced back mournfully to fire before following Mrs. Tralia out the door.

The trees were beginning to blossom and all around Isabelle, the brown that had once filled the graveyard was slowly beginning to be replaced by pale greens and yellows. Isabelle was bitter about their appearance. She'd found the brown comforting and there was something disrespectful about rebirth in a graveyard. She glanced at her watch and knew she was expected back at the Tralia's very soon. She took a deep breath and laid flowers in front of the middle stone, her mother's.

Her heart was filled with anger and bitterness and an overwhelming sadness that threatened to overtake her.

"I hate you." She said passionately to the gravestones. "I hate you all! I hate you for lying to me." She threw a rose at her mother's grave,

"I hate you for leaving me here!" She cried at her father's gravestone.

"I hate you for being so young." She cried at her brother's gravestone. Suddenly she remembered his little blond curls and his big blue eyes and she fell to her knees.

"and I hate myself for living." She whispered and laid the last of the roses as tears streamed down her cheeks.


	2. Part Two

Peroxide for the Wound

Part Two

Subtitled: It's Easy to Be Surprised with Both Your Eyes Sewn Closed

Quote: He not busy being born is busy dying.

**Bob Dylan (1941 - )**

A/N – Please review with any helpful suggestions or thoughts. The Subtitles all belong to Dashboard Confessionals, and everything else is JK Rowlings.

Isabelle was allowed to finish the year out at Salem Day School for Witches, but a week after school had ended, an agent from child services arrived to say the Mr. Lupin was expecting her any time. Isabelle had never unpacked most of her things when she moved in with the Tralias and so Mrs. Tralia had her things shipped to his house. Isabelle had hoped she could floo to her 'dad's' house but the floo network wasn't international so she was forced to travel the muggle way.

The morning of her flight dawned sunny and beautiful. She couldn't sleep, a problem that often afflicted her of late, and so she found herself on the Tralia's porch at dawn, watching the sunrise. Isabelle had always been a loud, vivacious girl but she had in a single second aged many years and was now pensive, careful, and thoughtful. She was once impulsive and firery but now there was a careful dullness in her as though she was afraid to court death through the very strength of her life.

After that day in Ms. Bloom's office, she didn't put up a fight about moving to England. She didn't put up a fight about being torn from the only life she'd ever known. She didn't even put up a fight about having to live with a man who claimed to be her father and yet had never sent a birthday card, Christmas gift, or even post card. She'd lost her will to fight.

At night, when she was asleep, was the only time she truly came alive. She was tormented by horrible images and feelings the threatened to overflow. She'd awake in a cold sweat, shivering despite the summer heat that threatened to suffocate her if her own thoughts didn't smother her first.

She simply stopped sleeping.

On this particularly morning, Isabelle sat cross legged on a huge wicker chair on the porch, a hot chocolate in hand, staring doe-eyed and melancholy at the reds and pinks that filled the sky

"Isabelle!" Mrs. Tralia said in surprise as she opened the screen door. "What are you doing out here? I just went upstairs to wake you. We have to leave for the airport in about a half an hour."

Isabelle nodded. "Couldn't sleep." She said simply, looking back to the sky.

"Well that's probably for the best. You'll sleep all the way to London this way." Mrs. Tralia said brightly and began to close the screen door. "Come in pretty soon and we'll start to pack the car."

Isabelle nodded. "Alright." She said and as she watched the beautiful colors slowly fading into a uniform blue, all she could think was how funny it was that the sunrise could be the end of something as much as it could be the beginning.

Heathrow was the mot depressing airport Isabelle had ever seen. It had none of the huge, windowed corridors that were present at Ohare and JFK. She was funneled down a windowless hallway with all the other incoming international flight passengers. They came to a huge room where Isabelle waited in line for over an hour to have her passport checked. By the time she got through, her luggage was waiting in the next room. A cavern of a room, Isabelle had to fight her way through the sea of families and people rushing about. Her ears were assaulted with dozens of foreign tongues and accents.

Once she had gathered her baggage, she took a cab to Kings Cross railroad station, as she had been told to, and proceeded to Platform 9 ¾. She walked through platforms 9 and 10 as she was instructed to and boarded the Hogsmeade Express for the last leg of her journey.

"Now Mr. Lupin will be at the station to meet you." Mrs. Tralia had said when they had said their good-byes over ten hours ago. Isabelle hoped they never reached the station. The sun was beginning to set as she sat alone in the compartment. She shivered as the countryside stretched endlessly in front of her.

Somehow the prospect of moving two thousand miles away hadn't seemed quite as daunting when Isabelle had sat in the sunshine with those she knew well. Now, alone, in a foreign country with darkness falling, she wondered how only weeks before she had been sitting with her parents, eating dinner and laughing. She half-expected herself to tear up at these memories, but no response came. She hadn't cried in weeks. She didn't expect that she ever would again.

The platform seemed empty as the train pulled to a stop with a jerk. Isabelle grabbed her bags and made for the door just as they began to open. She closed her eyes and took one last deep breath to steady herself before she stepped out onto the dark platform. She looked around her and at first she didn't see anyone. Finally, in the corner of her eye, she caught sight of a man, leaning against the wall. He looked a little ragged though and she looked around frantically to see if there was anyone else. The two of them were literally alone on the platform. She stood there awkwardly for a moment, as she tried desperately to work out the situation. Of all the ways she had pictured her father, this was not it. She couldn't make out his features in the filtered half-light from the street lights, but his robes were worn out and his hair looked as though it hadn't been washed in ages. Finally he stepped forward.

"Isabelle?" he asked, stepping fully into the light. His voice was rich and full and as her eyes fully began to adjust she took in his appearance. Besides looking a little tired, he wasn't a monster. His sandy blond hair was tussled and he large gray eyes that were framed with terrible circles. She found herself wondering if he had nightmares too.

Isabelle nodded mutely.

"Let me take that." He said. She handed him her bag, never taking her eyes off of him. That nose, she knew that nose and that chin too. A strange thrill started to fill her. For a brief instant Isabelle began to hope, a feeling as strange to her in recent days as happiness.

But then he turned away and the moment was gone. She felt worse than she did before, because for a brief moment she had hoped and now, as they walked into the station to floo to his house, she was filled with the overwhelming reality of the situation: she was alone in a foreign country, living with a stranger she vaguely resembled, and nothing was going to be the same again, ever.

"You must be exhausted." Remus said as Isabelle stepped from the fireplace, filthy with ashes.

She nodded and took in her surroundings. She stood in a rather simple and small kitchen. He watched her wandering gaze and shrugged. "It's not much, but it's clean and it's home."

Isabelle nodded again, at a complete loss for words. They stood there for a moment in awkward silence.

"Well," Remus said and clapped his hands together. "Let me show you around." He gathered her things in a business like manor and proceeded to show her around the small, but comfortable cottage. They came to a cozy room with two small sofas, a fireplace and shelves filled with books. "This is the living room." He said and gestured about him and kept walking into a hallway lined with faded yellow paper and tired looked wizards waving sleepily from crooked frames. In the hall way there was a staircase on the left, two doorways on the right and one door way at the end of the hall that led to the outside and seemed to be a back door. He opened the first door on the right. "Bathroom." He said, closing it quickly and moving on to the second door. "This is my study." He said without opening the door, touching the doorknob gently. "You are not to go in here without my express permission. This is very important. Do you understand Isabelle?"

She nodded, her tired mind trying to figure out exactly what was so important in there that she wasn't supposed to see. For a second, the thought of him being a dark wizard passed through her mind but as she watched him walk slowly up the stairs she dismissed it as ridiculous. There was something strange about this man, to be sure, but he wasn't evil.

At the top of the stairs they reached a landing with three doors: one directly in front of them, one on the direct left and one on the direct right. "This middle one is the bathroom. You may go ahead and make room for all of your things." He said and pushed open the door to reveal a small and sparsely decorated bathroom. "This room, here," he said as he pushed open the door on the right. "Will be your room." Isabelle walked into the room cautiously. It was easily the nicest in the entire house.  A large fire was crackling in the fire place and a large bed with a blue canopy was on the wall opposite it. The wall opposite the door had large bay windows with a window seat and the closet was next to the fireplace. All her boxes were stacked in front of the bed. "I hope it's alright." He said nervously as he hovered in the doorway. "I don't really know what girls like but my friend Adelle said the windows would be a good idea and she picked out the bed too."

Isabelle stared about her in amazement. "Wait you mean this wasn't here before?" She asked, finding her voice.

He shook his head. "I didn't have another bedroom, so when I found out you were coming, I added this."

Isabelle just shook her head.

"I know it's really plain, but we have to go to London day after tomorrow and I thought you could get what you needed then. Adelle or maybe Mrs. Weasley could help you and– "

"It's wonderful." Isabelle said quickly, a small smile lighting her face for the first time in weeks.

A smile began to grow, transforming his tired haggard face. "Really?"

She nodded. "Really."

He grinned, they stood there for a moment in silence. "I'll just let you get some sleep, then." He said and slowly backed out of the room. "Good night." He said and shut the door.

"Goodnight." Isabelle whispered.


	3. Part Three

Peroxide for the Wound

Part Three

Subtitled: You Look Better When Out of Sight

_I tend to live in the past because most of my life is there. _

**_Herb Caen_**

**a/n**** – this parts pretty long. Please review and I'll try to get the next part up soon. Here we get to meet some old friends. ******

Light filtered through the window. Isabelle's eyes flickered open. She'd slept fitfully the night before, terrified that the nightmares would begin again but in the light of day, nightmares seemed very far away from her and she stretched lazily and yawned as her eyes focused in the morning half-light. For a moment she thought she was back home and she smiled widely, thinking vaguely about what her mom was making for breakfast, but then she realized that she wasn't home, she wasn't even at the Tralia's. She was in a strange room, in a strange house, in a strange country and for a brief moment she had a strong urge to scream. She swallowed her scream and slid her feet over the bedside, landing on the hard wood floor with a thump. Smoothing her bedhead, Isabelle let herself take in her room for the first time in light. It was plain, but nice and pretty big. Unbidden an image of her bedroom at home flew at her. The faded flowery wallpaper, the white dresser, the sleigh bed, shelves filled with toys long since outgrown. Tears prickled her eyes and she squeezed them shut, shaking her head, forcing herself to focus on the here and now.

Unfortunately the here and now was hardly the ideal focus point and for a moment Isabelle was afraid she was going to burst into tears again. Her stomach grumbled and she wondered what time it was.

Her clock was still unpacked but a glance at her watch told her it was still early, barely seven. Remus was probably still in bed. She was hungry but she didn't want to risk waking him by going down stairs to get anything to eat and she didn't really feel comfortable helping herself in a house she barely knew. On the other hand, she wasn't entirely sure she wanted to eat with him anyway.

She stood for a moment, shifting her weight from one foot to the other and weighing her options. Finally, she decided to eat the last of her candy she'd bought the day before at the airport and start unpacking. No point forcing an interaction with the man, particularly if that meant taking his food and/or waking him up. In the cold morning light Isabelle found herself unsure of what she saw and who she met last night. She was having trouble remembering what was real and what was only a dream, but then her dreams often bled into reality these days, or at least her nightmares did.

With a sigh she grabbed a handful of M&Ms and started on the first box.

Isabelle reached in and grabbed the last object out of the last box: a picture. Without looking at the smiling faces and waving hands, she placed it on one of her mostly empty shelves. Most of her things had been sold or given away when she moved in with Tralia's and now, even after unpacking all of her things, her room looked oddly empty. She looked around, taking in her familiar things in such a strange place and felt…anger? Resentment? Unease? She couldn't place the feeling exactly but it was strong and for a moment it overtook her as she glared fiercely at the fireplace, willing it to challenge her, to give her a reason to lose it and then, just as quickly as it had come, it was gone and she was herself again, a lonely girl, in a foreign world, deflated.

She took a deep breath and, after throwing on some clothes, walked slowly down the old stairs. As she walked, as quietly as she could just in case Remus was busy or asleep, she heard a high pitched, almost musical laugh followed by a deep murmur she assumed was Remus. Curiously Isabelle followed the voices into the kitchen.

"God, it's good to be back." A women said, her voice rich, a slight accent audible at times. The women's back was to Isabelle but across the table she saw Remus sitting, smiling cheerfully, coffee in hand, looking less than rested but much better than the night before.

"Good morning, Isabelle." He said, his cheerful smile never faltering. The women whirled around and Isabelle nearly gasped. She was the most beautiful woman Isabelle had ever seen. She had deep brown hair that framed her perfect, delicate features. She had striking brown eyes that had silver mixed in at the oddest points and some of the longest lashes Isabelle had ever seen. She smiled prettily at Isabelle.

"Good morning Isabelle." She said.

Isabelle smiled faintly and mumbled a good morning. She took the seat Remus was gesturing to and looked at the two eager adults rather uneasily.

"Isabelle, this is Adelle. She's an old school friend of mine." Remus said, smiling widely.

"I've been in France for the last, oh, I'd say decade or so." She toyed with the cinnamon stick from her cider in her perfectly manicured hands.

Isabelle looked at her, interest starting to fill her. "Doing what?" She asked. Images of fashion shows and Coco Chanel flashed through her head. Isabelle could easily see Adelle as a model or doing something equally glamorous like running a fashion magazine.

"I run a bank." Adelle said listlessly. "And I'm _very _good at it." She added, a small smile playing on her lips.

Isabelle's eyebrows shot up. Was she serious? "Oh." Isabelle said finally. Shifting uncomfortably in her chair. "Well… that's good."

Remus laughed and got up from the table. "I've missed you Adelle." He said, with a shake of his head. Isabelle noticed his hair in the light. Even though it was prematurely speckled with grey it was hair she knew all too well because  it was hers. Something in her clicked.

_"Mom."__ Five year old Isabelle said as she hoisted herself onto a bed almost as tall as she. _

_"Yes Bella." Sarah Walker said automatically as she put on her earrings and surveyed her reflection skeptically. _

_"Why can't I have hair like you?" Isabelle asked, looking at her mother's deep brown curls longingly. _

_"Because you have Daddy's hair." Her mother said without looking away from her reflection. She wasn't very happy with the lipstick she had chosen and opened her top side drawer to pick another. _

_"No I don't." Isabelle pouted. "His hair is grey." _

_Sarah laughed and looked back at her daughter. "His hair wasn't always grey." She said and turned back to the lipsticks._

_Isabelle considered this for a moment. "So he used to have hair like me?" she asked. _

_"Hm?" her mother said as she rustled through her things looking for the deep pink she had bought earlier that week. "Oh, yes, yes of course dear. Bella why don't you go play so mommy can get ready, hmm?" _

But Isabelle remembered last year when she had rummaged through the linen closet for another quilt, her dad's old high school yearbook had fallen out and she had looked through it for awhile. She remembered her dad's snapshot and she remembered laughing about his silly hair. His silly dark brown hair.

It was a weird feeling, watching a man she hardly knew and seeing so much of herself in him. She shivered unconsciously.

"What can I get you for breakfast?" Remus said, catching her eye. Isabelle blushed as she realized she'd been staring.

"What do you have?" she asked.

"Um, not much actually." Remus shrugged sheepishly. "Eggs or porridge? We'll feed you better tomorrow in London, I promise."

Isabelle bit her lip. "Um, eggs, I guess." She said and Remus waved his wand obediently.

"So," Adelle said, careful not to let the silence get too long or too loud. "How do you like England?"

"Well I haven't really seen any of it. I mean I got in late last night and I've been here all morning. But it…uh…seems nice." She finished lamely, trying to find something nice to say.

"Yep." Adelle said conclusively, turning to Remus. "Definitely your daughter, can't lie to save her soul."

"Hey I lied, and well, to all of you for years." Remus said indignantly and pointed his wand at the sizzling bacon which promptly flipped.

"Oh yeah, real well. 'My…uh…grandmothers sick.' It's no wonder a bunch of thirteen year olds figured you out." Adelle said with a giggle and then, seeing Remus' face, promptly stopped midgiggle.

"What do you mean 'figured you out'?" Isabelle asked, the conversation suddenly getting interesting.

"Nothing." Adelle said quickly, putting on her CEO/Banker game face. "He just kept running his mouth to the Slytherins who would promptly beat him up," she said, using enough disdain in her voice to make the situation seem plausible. "then he would disappear into the hospital wing for days at a time recovering and would lie about the whole charade saying that he had to visit his sick grandmother, when really he'd just gotten the shit beaten out of him. Real winner, your dad." Adelle grinned cheekily at Remus.

Isabelle giggled. "Who are the Slytherins?" She asked, completely accepting of the idea that her father had been beaten up as a child. In fact as she watched him in the light, she wondered idly if he'd been bad mouthing the Slytherins since Hogwarts.

Across the room, Remus breathed a sigh of relied and flipped the eggs.

"One of the four houses at Hogwarts. Not a lot you want to get mixed up with. We were both in Gryffindor." Adelle said and pointed her wand at her near empty cup which refilled with cider immediately.

"What are the other two?" Isabelle asked.

"Ravenclaw, they're all right, bit of a grind though, Ravenclaw. And Hufflepuff. I very much doubt you'll be in Hufflepuff, though." Adelle said absently as she summoned another cinnamon stick from the cupboard.

Isabelle nodded, mulling over it all. Her old school had been an all girls school and a day school at that so this whole concept of houses was alien to her.

"You know my mother's name was Isabelle. Well Isabella actually." Adelle said softly after a moment. "She went by Bella, though."

"My mom used to call me Bella." Isabelle said, smiling.

Adelle nodded, suddenly looking rather cheerless.

"What happened to your mom?" Isabelle asked. "If you don't mind me asking, I mean." She added quickly.

"She died ages ago on holiday to Britain. I'm from France, but we moved to England when I was little, for Hogwarts you see." Adelle said summoning another cinnamon stick. "After my little brother, Pascal, was in Hogwarts, my parents moved back to France because that's were my dad's bank was. One day, a couple years after I graduated, Pascal was a second year, my mum came to London to spend the week with some friends and my sister Mireille, who works as a curse breaker at the ministry. Anyway, my mum was in Diagon Alley the day of one of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named's great purges." Adelle was staring out the window listlessly. Her eyes never blinking, her voice distant.

"I'm so sorry." Isabelle said, her heartbreaking for Adelle. Isabelle understood what it was like to lose your mother better than anyone, especially since her wounds were still so raw.

Adelle blinked her eyes rapidly and forced a laugh. "Look at me getting all teary-eyed and nostalgic on your first day here."

"Breakfasts ready." Remus said, eager to keep the conversation light. Remus was pretty sure that the last thing Isabelle needed was to be reminded of dead mothers.

"Thank you." Isabelle said, taking her food without looking at him.

"Everyone is dying to meet you, Isabelle." Remus said as he set the table for dinner.

They'd spent much of the day doing chores and when Adelle and Remus had disappeared into his office for over an hour, Isabelle had wandered the grounds. The moors on which they, and it seemed no one else, lived were beautiful but a little creepy and Isabelle had been grateful when Remus had called her in for dinner.  Adelle had decided she was needed in London and so it was just the two of them for dinner.

Isabelle nodded. "Who's everyone?" she asked, thinking back to the decided lack of neighbors in the area.

"Friends of mine mostly, and the headmaster of Hogwarts as well." Remus said and moved to the stove. Isabelle followed him in and he handed her a cucumber and a peeler.

"You know Albus Dumbledore?" Isabelle asked incredulously. "No you don't!"

Remus laughed. "Oh yes I do. You'll meet him. If not tomorrow than on some visit to London."

Isabelle grinned. Dumbledore was always all over the Wizarding World Gazette. Especially after things that had happened at the end of this year. The press in the US was reporting all different things, though. Some said Dumbledore was crazy, others that Voldemort had returned and Harry Potter had fought him in the British Ministry.

"Is it true what they say?" Isabelle ventured softly. "About You-Know-Who, I mean."

Remus looked up from his tossed lettuce in surprise and nodded slowly. "Yes, I'm afraid it's true."

Isabelle's breath caught in her throat and that familiar feeling of fear flooded her body. "Is anything being done about it, him, I mean?"  Her voice sounded strange, almost distant.

Remus nodded. "Yes, the ministry is working hard to make sure he never regains his full power. They caught some death eaters earlier this summer when they went after Harry Potter. I wouldn't worry about it, Isabelle." He said confidently. "These things have a way of working themselves out." He looked very tired all of the sudden, and Isabelle found herself wondering how often things had worked out against him.

She nodded though, and changed the subject. "So, who else will I meet?"

"Well," Remus said as he put the steak in the oven. "You've already met Adelle and tomorrow you'll meet the Weasley's and Hermione Granger, who's staying with them. They'll be in Diagon Alley as well. In fact, I have some business with Mr. and Mrs. Weasley, so you'll be on your own with their kids and Hermione for a little while."

"How many kids do they have?" Isabelle asked routinely as she chopped onions.

"Seven." Remus said, smiling to himself.

Isabelle nearly chopped off her fingers. "Seven?" she cried dubiously.

Remus nodded. "Seven."

"Well, it certainly won't be a boring day, will it?" Isabelle said, with a shake of her head.

Remus laughed and shook his head. "Things are never boring with the Weasleys." Remus said resolutely. He handed her the salad and watched as she took it to the table and unconsciously straightened the salt and pepper shakers and the fixed the misplaced forks and knives. Remus shook his head to himself. She reminded him strongly of another woman he'd loved who'd done the same thing once as she'd stood in the same place. A woman he thought he'd never see again.

_Funny how fate works._He thought to himself as he summoned the potatoes to the plates.

Lights flashed and the rain blew into the windshield, threatening to break it. The drops were heavy, like lead. In the front, her mother gripped the seat until her knuckles were white and her father, always laid back, toyed with the radio in one hand while driving with the other. Alex sat in his car seat, his blond curls to one side as he slept.

She was arguing with her father about being allowed to go to a party without the parents there that weekend. Her father looked away from the road for a moment to change from AM to FM.

Deafening noise.

Flashing lights.

Her brother's sweaty hand.

Her mothers scream.

Darkness

Isabelle awoke in a cold sweat, sobbing uncontrollably, clutching her brother's teddy bear. It'd been a long time since her nightmares were that vivid, that connected. Usually she dreamed about her family and it was punctured by the noise or the lights, but it'd been a long time since she'd dreamed of that night and so lucidly.

 She pulled herself from the tangled sheets and walked on the cold, wooden floor to the window. The night was cloudy and she couldn't see anything. She sat on the window seat her breathing still heaving, and opened the window. The cool night breeze soothed, her sweaty body and she clung the bear with all her might. Slowly the breeze lulled her back into an exhausted and dreamless sleep.

The day was hot and humid but dark as clouds gathered in the sky, threatening to pour but never making good on their promises. Remus and Isabelle flooed to the Leaky Cauldron at half-past ten and sat drinking butterbeers in a not uncomfortable silence as they waited for the Weasleys.

They weren't close to being comfortable around each other all the time, after all they'd known each other for barely two days, and yet they found they quite naturally cliqued. Their personalities seemed to compliment each other and Isabelle could see the living situation, while far from ideal, was bearable.

Remus watched her as he sipped his drink. He had heard her cry last night. The Tralia woman had told him that she had nightmares, he'd heard them first hand last night, though, and they were much worse than he had expected. He'd considered going in, but realized she might be embarrassed and it was the same respect for her feelings that kept him from saying anything now. If she wanted to talk about it, she would. It seemed odd that she had nightmares though. The emotion he'd heard last night, seemed out of place now as she sat calmly drinking. She even seemed well rested. Well that was the beauty of being sixteen, you could look perfectly rested on three hours. He should know.

Just then the door swung open and four red heads and a brunette marched in, bickering loudly. Isabelle looked up in surprise.

"That," Remus said grinning. "is the Weasleys."

Sure enough, a woman who looked roughly Remus' age, though was in fact much older, waved jovially. The other four followed her gaze and soon were waving too as they made their way to the table.

"Hello Remus, dear." Molly said grinning widely and hugging him close.

"Hello Molly, Arthur," Remus shook Arthur's hand enthusiastically. "Ron, Hermione, Ginny, how are you?"

"'lo Professor."

"Hello Professor."

"Just fine Professor."

"And this must be Isabelle." Molly said turning her attention to Isabelle who was watching the whole scene with a mixture of amusement and shyness. She felt rather awkward watching what was clearly an intimate moment between close friends.

"Yes, hello—" Isabelle said and got up. She started to hold out her hand, but much to her surprise she was pulled into a big hug.

"Welcome to England, dear." Molly said warmly, finally releasing her.

"Thank you." Isabelle said, surprised by the tenderness of her welcome.

"Isabelle these are some of the Weasley children. This is Ron and this is Ginny." Remus pointed to each. Ron smiled at her and Ginny waved. "and this is a friend of theirs from school, Hermione." Hermione shook her hand. "Ginny's in your year and Ron and Hermione are both a year ahead of you." Remus said.

Isabelle nodded. They all watched her for a moment as they waited for her to say something. "Nice to meet you all." She said finally.

"Well we'd better go before it gets too crowded. I don't want to have to wait in line at Flourish and Blotts again." Hermione said matter-of-factly.

"God forbid." Ron said, rolling his eyes.

Ginny smirked.

"Here's the key to our vault Isabelle." Remus said, handing her the Gingotts key. Her inheritance had been placed in Remus' vault upon her parents' death. 

She nodded and took the key wordlessly and followed the still bickering Ron and Hermione out the door.

"You three keep an eye on Isabelle. She's never been here before." Molly cried anxiously after them.

Ron rolled his eyes again. "We will mum."

"And floo back to the burrow no later than six." She added.

"They'll be fine, Molly." Arthur said and sat down opposite Remus.

"Really Ron, you should be nicer to your mum, she's under a lot of stress." Hermione said as they reached the door.

"I think I can handle my own mum, Hermione, thanks." Ron said sarcastically and muttered something under his breath about bossy women taking over his life.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to them." Ginny said with a grin as she watched her brother grimace at Hermione. "They're always like this."

Isabelle raised her eyebrows. "Great." She said wryly.

Remus, Molly and Arthur walked quietly into number 12 Grimmauld Place. It felt strange, almost disrespectful to Remus who hadn't been back since Sirius' death a month ago. He wondered what Sirius would have thought of Isabelle, of him having a daughter at all. He suddenly felt very sick at the thought of his old friend. It was only him and Adelle now. Well and Pettigrew, if you could count traitors.

"How's Harry?" Remus asked as he slid into one of the chairs in the kitchen.

"Tonks is watching him today." Arthur said and poured himself a cup of coffee.

"Not so great, poor dear. Barely writes to Ron. Mundungus is with him nights and says he has the worst nightmares." Molly said, starting a fire.

"Blames himself o'course." Arthur said heavily, sitting across from Remus.

Remus nodded. "It's to be expected. He's always taken too much upon himself." Remus sighed. "You know he reminds me so much of James at first glance, but he's so much…older than James ever was."

Molly nodded. "Well look at all that's been hoisted upon him. Its no wonder the boy's grown up."

Remus nodded. He worried about his friend's son, especially now that Sirius was dead. A death, Harry, no doubt, blamed himself for.

"We'll see Harry soon enough." Arthur said confidently. "but let's hear about Isabelle. Brave man taking on a teenager."

Remus smiled weakly. "I have to admit, I thought if Isabelle ever came back into my life, it'd be as a child but she's no child."

"Hard age, fifteen." Arthur said, nodding sagely. "Why look at the twins. That's when they came up with their joke shop bit."

Molly's face became temporarily red at the thought of the twins and Remus quickly switched the topic back to Isabelle.

"Yeah, but she seems like a good kid. Haven't had any trouble yet anyway. Of course it's only been a few days." He smiled good naturedly.

"She seems lovely, Remus." Molly said kindly. "She's beautiful."

"She looks just like her mum," Remus said wistfully. "except for my hair of course."

"She does look a great deal like Sarah." Arthur conceded. Just then the door bell rang and Arthur quickly got up to get the door.

"How are you doing Remus, really?" Molly asked after Arthur had left.

"Really?"

Molly nodded.

"I've been better." He said with a sigh. "I honestly don't know if I'm cut out to do this, Molly. I can't be anybody's father. I mean my condition aside, I don't know the first thing about kids."

"The kids all loved you at Hogwarts, Remus. Ron, to this day, talks about how you were the best Defense Against the Dark Arts teacher he's ever had." Molly said confidently, taking his hand. "Don't be silly."

"Compared to Quirrell, Lockhart, a fake Moody, and Umbridge I'm not sure that's saying much." Remus said wryly.

"Stop it this instant. You'll be great! She needs family right now, Remus and you're all she's got." Molly said summoning another cup and filling it for Remus. "Besides," she said softly. "Who knows heartache better than you."

Remus considered this for a moment. "No one, except maybe Harry,"

Molly nodded. "Exactly. She needs stability and she needs family. Both of which you can give her."

"But I can't give her what her mother could. I can't afford the things they could. And what if she finds out about my condition?" Remus said in a rare moment of visible insecurity

Molly shook her head. "Money isn't what counts Remus. Your time is what counts. And as for your condition, with the Wolfsbane potion you will be just fine for the rest of the summer and then she's off to Hogwarts."

Remus nodded, feeling, if not completely sure, better at least. He opened his mouth to thank Molly as Arthur came back with Dumbledore.

Remus stood up to greet him.

"Take a seat Remus, Molly, Arthur." He said gravely.

Isabelle helped Hermione set the table and giggled as Ron snapped at her for taking his broom away.

"Ronald if you don't start your homework, you'll never finish it." Hermione said resolutely,  unperturbed by his look of horror as he mouthed wordlessly at her for a moment.

"Have you lost it Hermione? Holidays began a _week _ago. You can't really mean for me to start on my homework." Ron blanched at the very prospect.

"Ron," Hermione said in a would-be patient way, as though she were explaining something very simply like brushing your teeth. "This year we begin our NEWT classes. We've got to get a head start on the work because this year really counts."

Ron shook his head in disgust and marched out the door to the broom shed where he promptly borrowed Ginny's broom, all the while muttering furiously under his breath.

"So irresponsible." Hermione muttered darkly.

Isabelle laughed again. "What now?" she asked as she surveyed  the set table.

"Now we relax and take a look at what you got!" Ginny cried from the comfy chair by the fire, Surrounded by bags.

"Sounds good to me!" Isabelle said eagerly and started towards the mountains of bags.

As she laughed and unpacked her things by the bags she started to feel alive. She felt, not back to normal, not by far, but she felt something and that was a start. There was something about the familiar activity of shopping with girls her age that felt comfortable even if it was in an unfamiliar place with unfamiliar people.

Ginny giggled as Isabelle held out her new scarlet robes dramatically and Isabelle felt a rush of affection towards her new friends.

Maybe everything was going to be okay after all.

Watching her in the firelight laughing and talking, Remus began to feel his confidence return. Maybe he could do this after all.


	4. Part Four

Peroxide for the Wound

Part Four

Subtitled: If You Can't Leave it Be, Might as Well Make it Bleed

Quote: The truth that makes men free is for the most part the truth which men prefer not to hear. Herbert Agar

Isabelle yawned luxuriously and grinned at Ginny, who returned it whole-heartedly. "We should do this every day." She said, putting her feet up on the sofa and holding the mug of cocoa closer to her.

Ginny shook her head. "I haven't flown so much in ages, I just wish Fred and George had been here." She smiled to herself for a moment, picturing her brothers' faces. "That last flip was wicked."

"It's just nice to get out." Isabelle said, sipping her cocoa and glancing affectionately out the window at the previously haunting moors. In the light of day, the wilderness that surrounded Remus' cottage was the furthest thing from threatening. "My mom and dad lived in a neighborhood so I could never just go out for a fly, you know?"

Ginny nodded, trying to imagine what it would be like living in a muggle area. "Yeah, I mean, I never had to worry about muggle neighbors, or anything like that, but my brothers never used to let me fly. I had to sneak out, when no one was around and with six brothers, that was no small feat."

Isabelle laughed at the image of Ginny trying to sneak out of the Burrow with the many watchful eyes over her. Her face softened for a moment. "It must be nice to have older brothers." She said wistfully, suddenly growing melancholy. Unbidden an image of her own brother came to mind. She shivered unconsciously, but blinked the image away, terrified that she'd cry and if she cried, she just might never stop.

Ginny shifted uncomfortably in her chair. She and Isabelle had hung nearly every day since they'd met over two weeks previously but Isabelle had never before mentioned her parents or even let on that she was sad. Ginny hesitated for a moment, unsure of what to say. The only other person she knew that had experienced a loss like Isabelle's was Harry, and it wasn't as though Harry ever poured his heart about it. "You miss them, don't you?" Ginny said quietly after a moment.

Isabelle shrugged miserably, "How could I not?" She asked softly, looking suddenly very lost. Ginny leaned forward, placing a comforting hand on Isabelle's arm. She opened her mouth, desperately hoping that something soothing would come out, but before she even got the chance, the door to Remus' office swung open and he and Adelle stepped out, laughing raucously.

"Oh my god!" Cried Adelle. "I haven't thought about that in years."

"Well it's not exactly an image you'd want to treasure." Remus said wryly, following her into the living room and stopped abrubtly. "Hello girls, have a nice fly?" he said, seeming almost surprised to see them. If possible, the circles under his eyes looked darker than normal and though she was smiling cheerfully, a sense of exhaustion pervaded him.

"Yeah," Isabelle said quickly, collecting herself, her throat feeling oddly scratchy. "It was wicked!"

Ginny nodded eagerly.

"Good!" he said and smiled at them. "Well, Adelle and I have to run to London for some last minute business." He looked darkly at Adelle, "Can you handle things here?"

Isabelle laughed. "I think I'll probably be alright. If it'd make you feel better you could always call a baby sitter."

Adelle looked at her in surprise. "Well aren't we cheeky?" she said delightedly, thrilled at Isabelle had finally found some spunk. "You should hang out with the Weasley's more often."

"Any more often and Ginny would be living here." Remus said, smiling affectionately at Ginny, grateful that his daughter had found so willing a friend.

"I'd be good with that," Ginny said simply, settling back into the old, battered arm chair.

"Yeah till Harry Potter comes to the Burrow." Isabelle added under her breath so only Ginny could hear. Ginny glared at her.

Remus and Adelle had suddenly gone very deaf and they busied themselves with retrieving their wands. "Well we're off!" Remus said and held out his wand.

"Be good girls, " Adelle added. "Try not to be too much like your father, Isabelle, go easy on the firewhisky and keep the parties to a dull roar, " she shot a sly look in Remus' direction and winked at Isabelle.

Isabelle sighed theatrically. "I'll do my best." She said.

Remus shook his wand warningly at Adelle. "Don't go giving them ideas." He said but rather then respond, Adelle grinned at deviously and apparated.

"That's my cue." He said and with a swish was gone.

"Well that was rather drawn out." Ginny said drying, staring at the empty space that had once held Remus and Adelle.

"Yeah," Isabelle said dully. "They're always like that." She paused for a moment deep in thought. "They're always locked up in that office. I wonder what they do in there all day." She said thoughtfully,

Ginny snickered. "Well I have a few ideas," she said, raising her eyebrows suggestively.

Isabelle looked up, alarmed. She and Ginny's eyes met and they both burst into giggles.

Ginny left late that night but even after Isabelle had tidied up the house and taken a shower, she lay in bed as she always did both desperate for and terrified of sleep. Well into the night her thoughts tormented her. The more she got to know Remus, the more she wanted to know what had happened between him and her mother. But at the same time even acknowledging in her thoughts that Remus was her father, that he'd been married to her mother, that she had his hair, seemed an unforgivable betrayal of the man who had raised her. The man, who, in his sweet mugglishness had come to every one of her ballet recitals, softball games and school plays. The man who had bought her her first bike, pair of earrings, even took her to get her first wand, though he knew nothing about it. By getting to know Remus, liking Remus, was she somehow being disloyal to Jonathan Walker, who, until a few weeks before, was the only father she had ever known. How could she insult the memory of the man who had been nothing but good to her? Who had raised her as his own? Who had died fighting with her? Her guilt, compounded with her already suffocating grief made nights unbearable and days only marginally better.

Sometimes Isabelle felt like she would burst. She had wanted so badly to hate everyone and everything, to anything to blame her pain on. But everyone had been so good, and so patient, Isabelle found she couldn't rage at them any more than she could rage at her very gone, family. But then there was the mystery of Remus himself. Why was he always so tired? Isabelle found herself vaguely wondering if she had inherited insomnia from him. And what was this nameless work he did for Dumbledore in that creepy mansion in London, that very clearly didn't pay him anything? It was at this point that Isabelle's thoughts began to become disjointed with exhaustion. Dumbledore…school…Hogwarts…Alex would never get to see Hogwarts, or any other school…she'd never see Salem School again…America…Remus' office…her mother…Isabelle's stomach clenched painfully and she drifted off into an uneasy sleep.

The morning dawned foggy and foreboding. As light poured into her room, Isabelle sat up groggily, staring resentfully at her windows. She heard some distant banging in the kitchen and swung her feet onto the floor and shuffled into her slippers. When she reached the kitchen, Remus was cooking expertly while reading a book.

"Good Evening." Remus said without looking up.

"Morning." She said, and flopped onto a kitchen chair. "Wait, what?"

"It's nearly six o'clock." Remus said, pointing his wand and muttering a few words.

Isabelle stared at him for a moment. "You're kidding." She said.

Remus laughed. "Nope. Ginny popped in earlier but I told her you were asleep. She wants you to come over tomorrow."

Isabelle nodded dully. She had slept away the whole day? Remus seemed to be reading her mind. "What time did you go to bed last night?" he asked casually, flicking his wand.

"Not that late, but I couldn't sleep." She admitted.

"Any particular reason?" His voice still forcefully casually.

Isabelle thought back to the night before. She remembered thinking about her mother and Remus but shook her head, her light hair falling into her eyes. "Nope." She said, lying purposefully and busying herself with straightening the silverware. She wasn't sure why she didn't just come out and ask Remus about her mother. She supposed it was because deep down, she believed that she and Remus were getting along simply because they were both pretending, and pretty successfully at that, that Isabelle was simply there on holiday. They never talked about her mom, or Jonathan or Alex. They never even talked about anything long term, except for maybe the odd reference to Hogwarts. In fact, now that Isabelle thought about it, they never talked about anything of substance, no one did not to her anyway. She knew that Ginny knew more about the work Remus was doing for Dumbledore than she let on. Not that all this secrecy particularly bothered her, she was, after all, just as guilty. It wasn't as though she'd been particularly forthcoming. Still, it was all a little strange.

"Dinner time." Remus said cheerfully.

Isabelle snapped out of her revere and smiled distantly. "Oh, right, great." She said. "I'm starved." She took the plate from him gratefully. "So, did you go to London today?" she asked in a would-be-casual way.

"No, I had some work to do around the house." He said, chewing his asparagus thoughtfully.

Isabelle glanced at her chicken for a moment, gathering her thoughts. "What do you do in London, anyway?" she asked, looking up from her plate carefully, her light eyes, meeting his.

He shrugged. "Oh this and that." He said airily. "More vegetables?"

The wind blew softly outside and Remus watched as Isabelle leaned back and laughed deeply. He liked her like that, when she was flying. She seemed, happier, freer, more like the child he once knew.

"You look tired Remus." Molly said, tidying the counter under the window.

"Hmm?" he asked, tearing his eyes from his daughter just as she tossed the ball to Ginny who flew passed a red faced Hermione with surprising ease. "Oh yes, well you know." He said vaguely, refilling his coffee mug. "It's been a long summer. The Order, and the full moon last week, not to mention Isabelle…" he trailed off, feeling exhausted just thinking about it. "Thank you, by the way, for having Isabelle over Wednesday night. Even with the Wolfsbane potion, I'd rather not have her around."

"Oh it was no problem…"Molly said kindly. "She's a dear. Rather keeps to herself though, I must say. Never met so self contained a child. Gets along with Ginny just fine but get her in a group and she's quiet as a lamb."

"Afraid she gets that from me." Remus said, sighing. "Her mother was the definition of frank."

"If you don't mind me asking, are you two getting along alright? I know the circumstances are incredibly difficult," Molly said, watching Remus with a mothering instinct that could never even been dampened.

Remus shrugged. "Yes, we're getting along fine, I just…well… I worry about her. There's a lot more going on with her than she let's on. But I don't want to force her to talk to me about it."

"She'll talk when she's ready. To be fair, you haven't exactly told her all your skeletons either." Molly added, sweeping to the kitchen table and giving it a good scrub down.

"She just lost the only family she's ever known." Remus said, suddenly looking far older than he was. "and Merlin knows the world is becoming a darker place by the day. I can't bear to break her heart any further."

Molly smiled sympathetically following his gaze to the grinning girl. "Of course, dear. Who would want to break that smile? Now let me feed you something, you look famished."

_Remus,_

_There's been a mass escape from Azkaban. Come quickly._

_A.D._

Remus jumped up from the table and placed his wand on the note, causing it to erupt into flames. The owl flew out the window almost as fast as it had come. Isabelle watched the whole display over her shepherd's pie a little wide-eyed and horrified.

"I may be gone over night, but the doors are locked and if there's a problem, just flew to the Burrow." Remus said hurriedly as he rushed in and out of his office and into the living room. "I'm sorry to leave so suddenly but Dumbledore just owled."

"Is everything okay?" Isabelle asked, watching her usually calm father look so agitated and feeling slightly panicked herself.

"I'm sure everything will be fine." He said, sounding far more confident than he felt. "Be careful." He said, looking at her intensely for a moment, but with a wave of his wand, he was gone.

Isabelle sat there for a moment, feeling slightly dumbfounded. She walked slowly back into the kitchen and began to clear the plates. Unsure of what to make of the whole incident.

As she reached for Remus' plate, she grinned. She was all alone in the house. Completely alone. Now was the perfect time to check out Remus' study. If nobody was going to tell her anything, she would just have to find out for herself. For a moment she considered flooing Ginny but the notion was gone as soon as it had come. She felt, for some reason, that she had to do this alone. This was her family, her past, her future. No one else could understand, not even Ginny.

Feeling almost illicit, she placed the dishes into the sink and dried her hands. She walked slowly down the hall, aware of the beating of her own heart. In Remus' haste he had left the door to his office wide open. She paused for a moment, afraid even in her solitude that Remus was going to pop out, to call her on her deception. She pulled open the door with a creak and turned on the lights. The room was deceptively spacious with a large space in the middle that looked roughed up and well worn. The hard wood floor looked as though it had been the victim of much foul play. Directly opposite the door was a large desk. Isabelle moved to it almost against her own will. She didn't even know what she was looking for exactly. Maybe something to do with this strange business in London, maybe something to do with her mother, maybe something else. Her heart beat loudly in her chest and she pulled open the top drawer.

On the top were bills, and other letters, and a few books about Defense Against the Dark Arts. The second drawer was just as fruitless. At the bottom of the third drawer, however was a large, gorgeous leather book. She pulled it out carefully and turned to the first page. It was her mom, a much younger mom, standing next to a red headed woman, both grinning and waving eagerly. At the bottom of the picture were the two again, each with a baby in their arms. The red haired woman held a baby boy with jet black hair. Her mother held a much smaller baby. _Me _she realized with a start. She turned the page eagerly, and something fell out of the back of the album. Isabelle placed the album on the top of the desk and picked up the fallen piece of parchment.

Isabelle had a strange feeling in the pit of her stomach and picked up and unfolded the piece of parchment with an almost painful fluttering.

_Remus,_

_The directions for the Wolfsbane Potion are enclosed. Brew well in advance of the full moon and drink one vial each day for three days before the full moon._

_Best,_

_Severus Snape_

Isabelle felt terribly ill as she held the parchment. Her hand began to shake violently and she almost threw it onto the desk, as though terrified that by holding it, the situation would become more real, more horrific. Isabelle stared at WOLFSBANE POTION with an intense hatred. She knew that potion, they'd spent two weeks on it. It was for werewolves. Her father…the only family she had left. She stared about the room with a horrific new understanding. The room began to spin against her will and she gripped the desk, desperate for some semblance of balance. She had to get out of there. A werewolf lived there. The shadows had not been her imagination, without another thought she jumped up and hurtled from the room and out the back to. She ran and she ran and she ran. She wasn't even sure where she was going but at some point she began to sob uncontrollably.

Somehow this had all gone terribly, horribly, irreversibly wrong. What was she going to do? She had nowhere to go. No one to see. Suddenly her foot hit a root and she tumbled face first to the ground. It knocked the wind out of her and it took her a moment to calm down enough to catch her breath. She barely had a breath out of her when coldness filled her. As despairing as she had felt, this was so much worse. The dark moors faded from her.

_There are bright lights_

_Her mothers scream_

_Her brothers sweaty hand_

_Her mother's scream_

_Her mother's scream_

"_No!" Isabelle cried, her mother echoing mercilessly in her ear_

It was oh so cold…..and then…darkness fell.


	5. Part Five

Peroxide for the Wound

Part Five

Subtitled: Clean this with kerosene

Quotes: Happy families are all alike; every unhappy family is unhappy in its own way.

**Leo Tolstoy**** (1828 - 1910)**, _Anna Karenina, Chapter 1, first line_

Trust one who has gone through it.

**Virgil**** (70 BC - 19 BC)**, _The Aeneid_

"I wonder where they went?" Ron said, staring into the emptiness that had, moments before, held his parents and brother Bill.

"Well they're not exactly allowed to tell us, are they?" Hermione snapped, as helped herself to some more of Mrs. Weasley's pork chops.

"Must have been important for them all to leave all at once like that." Ginny said thoughtfully.

"I'm sure it was," Harry said dully, slightly annoyed that he was still not allowed to join the Order.

"If the could have told us, they would have." Hermione said simply, utterly unperturbed by the turn of events.

They sat in silence for a moment, each lost in his own thoughts.

"Hey Ron," Harry said, breaking the tense silence. "What's up with your clock?"

Ron followed his gaze. The Weasley's magical clock that held the health of each family member had suddenly started glowing red. With each second that passed, it grew brighter and brighter until it became almost impossible to look at directly. "I dunno." Ron said incredulously. "It's never done that before." Suddenly black spidery lettering covered the face.

Lupin Family – Mortal Peril It read. Ginny gasped.

"It's not a full moon, is it?" Harry asked, glancing quickly out the window only to see a quarter moon.

Hermione turned to Ron fearfully. "You don't think it's…" She couldn't bring herself to say what everyone else was thinking.

"But Lupin's probably not even there." Harry said, trying to feel as confident as he sounded. "If your parents were called to the Order, he must have as well."

"Not Lupin." Ginny whispered, unable to tear her gaze from the clock. "Isabelle."

It took only moments for this one word to take its full affect. Within seconds all four were mobilized, wands at the ready, moving at a run to the fire place. "Wilshire Moor." Harry shouted, throwing the floo powder into the fire place, followed at an almost dangerous pace by Ron, Hermione and Ginny.

When they arrived at Lupin's cottage they found the house warm and inviting. "Well it can't be death eaters," Ron said, staring around the brightly lit living room and moving quickly into the kitchen where dished still sat soaking in the sink. "The place is still standing."

"Isabelle!" Ginny called out, but no response was heard. She called again, louder this time. "Isabelle!" Still nothing.

"She outside." Harry said suddenly, standing in the hall. The others rushed to join him, wands raised.

"How do you know?" Ron asked.

"The doors open." Harry said, his heart beating painfully in his chest. For some reason, not even he understood, he ran through the door, the others close on his heels. "Lumos." He whispered, lighting the way. They had run no more than ten seconds though when a horrible, all too familiar coldness surrounded them.

"I know that feeling." Ron said warily, looking wildly about him.

"So do I." Harry said grimly, running through the cold, willing himself not to succumb to the horrible sadness that threatened to engulf him altogether.

"There she is!" Ginny cried suddenly, the light from her wand catching Isabelle's blond hair.

"Oh my god." Hermione gasped. Four dementors were practically on top of a collapsed Isabelle, the nearest one to her leaning dangerously in.

But before anything else could be said. Both Harry and Hermione had raised their wands and yelled in unison. "Expecto Patronum!" The otter and the stag took after the dementors, clearing the scene, leaving Isabelle mercifully, yet terribly alone.

"Is she…?" Ginny whispered as she knelt next to Isabelle.

"I don't think so." Harry answered. "I think we got here in time." He looked at the others gravely and together he and Ron lifted her up.

"How is she?" Ginny asked anxiously for the upteenth time, wringing her hands and pacing around Isabelle's cot as though willing her to wake up.

"Still out, poor dear," Molly said patiently. "To sleep Ginny, you've been up all night and you look exhausted. I won't tell you again. I'll come get you if she wakes up."

Ginny paused for a moment, hesitating. "I'll take her," Hermione said, coming behind Ginny and putting her arm around her. "Come on, Gin."

Ginny's last urge to stay awake dissolved under Hermione's comforting embrace and she allowed herself to be lead from the room, exhausted.

"She'll come to though, right mum?" Ron asked, watching her fearfully.

"Oh course, though it's damn lucky you all got there when you did, or she'd awaken a whole lot different." Arthur answered darkly from the corner.

"What was she doing out in the middle of the night, playing with dementors no less?" Tonks asked, shaking her head and staring out the window, praying for some sign of her owl. "No word from Remus yet." She added needlessly.

"Of all nights to go for a midnight stroll, she chooses the one when dementors flee Azkaban." Harry said with a sigh, bringing three mugs of cocoa as he strode in from the kitchen, exhausted.

"Well she probably didn't know that the dementors had broken out of Azkaban. I mean we didn't." Hermione said reasonably as she reentered the room, taking a mug from Harry gratefully. "Still," she added thoughtfully after a moment, "It's not exactly like Isabelle to go out alone. Something scared her."

"What d'you mean, Hermione?" Ron asked thickly threw his whip cream.

"The back door was wide open, She left fast, so fast that she forgot this." Harry said pulling a wand out of his pocket and laid it next to the cot, on which Isabelle lay looking deceptively peaceful.

"Who forgets their wand when they leave the house?" Ron asked incredulously. "Especially that house."

"Ronald."

"What Hermione? I like Lupin and all but you've got to admit, those moors were a bit creepy."

Hermione just shook her head and muttered darkly under her breath about immaturity.

"Well I'd better head back to London," Tonks said regretfully after a moment, running a hand through her neon orange hair, speckled with purple spots. She glanced at her watch and shook her head. "Moody will have my head as it is. When Remus gets back, tell him I'll owl him first thing in the morning."

Everyone nodded and there was a chorus of 'night Tonks' all around. She had scarcely been gone a moment when Remus, followed almost dangerously fast by Adelle, popped out of the fireplace. Remus look wild, his normally patient, calm face contorted with worry. "What happened?" he demanded loudly, looking about room. When no one answered him right away he became increasingly agitated. "I said, what happened?"

"Calm down Remus." Adelle said softly behind him, uncharacteristically sensitive. She placed a bracing hand on his shoulders. "We came from…well where we were…as soon as we heard. Now, What's this with dementors?"

"Harry?" Molly asked sighing softly.

Harry shifted uncomfortably in his seat. He told Lupin and Adelle the story, and finished with a wary look at his old professor, slightly embarrassed.

Lupin sighed when he had finished and threw himself heavily into the nearest arm. "I almost hate to say it, but thank god for Moody's paranoia. If he hadn't insisted that we put those wards around our houses…" He shivered involuntarily. He turned to Harry. "And thank you Harry, thank you all. If you hadn't come after her…well…I think we all know what would have happened." Remus' voice was steady enough but Harry couldn't help but notice that his eyes were oddly shiny.

"No problem." Harry said, embarrassed.

"I'm just glad we got there in time." Hermione said, staring at Isabelle.

"What was she doing out there anyway? Does anybody know?" Adelle asked.

There was a collective shrug. "Dunno." Ron said. "We were actually just talking about that. Went out for a midnight stroll without her wand. Seems a bit strange, doesn't it?"

Remus nodded. "Very strange. Very strange indeed." He stared at his sleeping daughter, his breathing became constricted in his chest. For a moment he felt he might burst into tears, tears of both relief and fear. He shook his head, trying to rid himself of the reel he heard over and over in his mind, the reel of what might have happened, very well could have happened. And not for the first time in his life, Remus felt utterly helpless. He watched the others out of the corner of his eye get up and head to bed, or home in Adelle's case, but no matter how tired he was, he couldn't bear to let her out of his sight. For a moment all the memories of the past month flashed in his mind, and he felt a pain so intense, he thought for a moment he might never smile again. In one shallow moment, Remus Lupin had almost lost everything, all over again and no one was more aware of it than he.

"It's terrifying isn't it?" Arthur said softly, speaking for the first time all night as he passed Remus on his way up to bed.

"What?" Remus asked.

"Being a parent." Arthur said simply, clapping him comfortingly on the back.

No words, had ever seemed so true.

The next morning, Isabelle awoke with a splitting headache and sunlight spilling into her eyes. She groaned and rubbed her head half-heartedly. Annoyed, she groaned and opened her eyes only to see Remus sitting in an arm chair, staring at her.

"Good morning." He said tightly and grim faced. Isabelle stared at him for a moment confused and looked around her.

"What am I doing at the burrow?" she asked incredulously.

"I was about to ask you the same thing." Remus said calmly, but the coldness is his tone couldn't be mistaken. In the cold light of day, Remus was furious with her. Fear and horror over what might have happened coursed through him in a way he barely even understood.

The night began to rush back to Isabelle and she blanched visibly. Before Isabelle could even begin to formulate response, although what she was going to say, not even she knew, Remus was on his feet, the anger that had been percolating in him all night, finally bubbling to the surface.

"What the hell were you thinking, Isabelle? Running into the moors in the middle of the night. You could have been killed, and almost were!" With every word his voice grew louder and he was vaguely aware that probably everyone in the entire house could hear him, but he didn't care. "Do you have any idea how close to came to being kissed by a dementor? It's sheer luck that you even have a soul right now! Do you understand how serious this is? Can you even begin to comprehend how stupid you were?"

As Lupin's voice grew louder, Isabelle grew angrier. If it was anyone's fault that she was almost killed by a dementor it was his.

"I get it okay?" she cried, sitting up fully. "But who are you to tell me what to do?"

"Who am i?" He said, furious. "I'm your father!"

"Oh yeah, as evidence by all those Christmas cards and Birthday presents you sent! Where the hell have you been for the last fifteen years?" Her voice was filled with all the bitterness she'd ever felt. Bitterness, at being abandoned not only by him but by her mother, and step father and brother. Bitterness at being dealt a bad hand. Bitterness that she had to explain herself to a deadbeat werewolf. A resounding silence followed this accusation but it only served for Isabelle to build up steam. All the pain that she had repressed in the two long months since the car accident threatened to over come her entirely. "The only father I ever knew is dead, but you know what, at least he was around, and oh yeah…wasn't a werewolf." As soon as she said it she regretted it, but it was too late.

Remus felt like he'd been hit. He'd dealt with a lot of betrayal and prejudice in his time but nothing could compare to hearing his own daughter, spit werewolf as though the very poison of the sounds would infect her too. Only one other person had ever cut him as deep with the tone of that one word, and that other person had left him only moments afterward, carrying their infant in her arms. Remus suddenly felt very sick, and for one, twisted moment, as he looked into the loathing in his daughter's eyes, eyes he knew all too well, he vaguely thought he'd fallen into a pensive. By the time he recovered enough to respond, Isabelle had fled from the room, furious tears streaming from her eyes. She ran through the kitchen and out the back door.

"She's got to stop doing that," Ron muttered wryly into his porridge. "It only gets her into trouble." Arthur, Molly, Hermione, Ginny and Harry shot him dirty looks as Lupin walked wearily into the kitchen. His anger replaced with extreme exhaustion.

"I take it she knows." Arthur said, looking at Remus pityingly. Remus nodded drearily.

"I'll go talk to her." Ginny said, getting up from the table and wiping her hands. Harry had listened to the whole scene with a kind of sick intensity. Isabelle, a girl he had only met while subconscious, had just in five minutes what he had wanted to say his entire life. If anybody knew how it felt to be abandoned, even if it was on accident, it was Harry.

"No." Harry said quietly, "let me." Ron looked at him curiously, but Ginny and Hermione understood perfectly.

"I think that sounds like a really good idea." Hermione said. "You two have a lot in common."

"Yeah, dead parents." Harry said dryly. "What a wonderful basis for a friendship."

Ginny smiled broadly at him, and Harry's heart jumped in his chest. Returning the smiled gratefully, he followed Isabelle out the back door.

He found her by broom shed, sitting, arms around her knees. "Hey." Harry said, as he approached her.

Isabelle turned around before whipping her head into her arms, facing flushing with embarrassment. The last thing she had ever wanted was to cry in front of the famous Harry Potter. Isabelle hadn't cried since her parents' funeral and here she was making a scene in front of a really cute guy she'd only ever seen in Hot Wizards Weekly. Talk about stupid timing. IF there was ever a moment when Isabelle wished she were home, really home, It was this. It was enough that she'd said those awful things to Remus, or almost kissed by dementors but now she was crying like a little girl in front of The Harry Potter. She didn't know much about Harry but she was pretty sure that all those times he'd faced Voldemort he didn't burst into tears and flee the room. "Hi." She said meekly.

"Can I sit here?" He asked, sitting down next to me.

"I guess." She said, wiping her face furiously of any remaining tears. "Sorry," she said embarrassed. "I'm not even really sure what happened. I've never fought with anyone like that."

"You know you're pretty lucky." Harry said quietly, staring at the broomshed, half wishing that he were soaring above the Burrow then dealing with a crying girl. But at least this time he wasn't kissing her.

Isabelle laughed bitterly. "Oh yeah, how do you figure that?" she kicked the dirt needlessly.

"I've known Remus for three years now and I've never seen him even come close to showing that much emotion. He really cares about you." Harry said.

Isabelle shrugged. "Yeah well he has a great way of showing it."

"Oh yeah, I know. I mean a parent gets mad when his daughter runs away from home and almost gets killed. What is that about?"

Isabelle glared at him. "He has no right to be angry with me. Besides I'm in just as much danger at home than I am in those stupid moors."

"Ahh…so you know about the whole werewolf thing." Harry said toying with his wand.

Isabelle laughed mirthlessly. "Whole werewolf thing…yeah….If that's what you want to call it." She shrugged miserably.

"Look, I think we both know that Remus isn't dangerous, he takes this potion…" Harry said turning to look her in the eye for the first time.

"The Wolfsbane Potion –" she cut him off. "Yeah, I know all about it." She shivered involuntarily remembering the letter she'd found from a Severus Snape. She considered tell Harry about it, but decided against it.

"Then want to tell me what this is really all about? You know you caused a lot of trouble last night. We thought for a minute, we'd never find you."

Isabelle looked up in surprise. "Oh my god, you mean you –? I'm so sorry Harry, I honestly never meant to get hurt or scare anyone. I just…" She looked for a moment like she was going to break down again, but the moment passed.

"What happened?" Harry asked, quieter this time, looking at her intently. Slowly Isabelle turned her head, meeting his stare. All her resolve broke down. She ran a hand through her light blond hair and sighed.

"It's not that he's a werewolf, although that did scare the hell out of me..." She paused, wondering if she was really going to say to a boy she just met what she couldn't even bring to say to herself. "It's just, I guess, everything kind of… piled up. And when I found out that he was a werewolf, " She finished lamely.

But Harry understood all too well. "I know how that is." He said with a sigh, this time he kicked the dirt uselessly. "Like one thing goes wrong and then everything else goes wrong all at once."

Isabelle nodded miserably. "First my parents and Alex, then –"

"Who's Alex?" Harry cut her off.

"My little brother. He was three." She said lifelessly.

Harry turned to her horrified. "You mean…he was…?"

She nodded, tears beginning to fill her eyes.

Harry shook his head. "I had no idea." He said. He'd lost parents, friends, even a godfather, but to lose a sibling…and so young. He felt sick at the thought.

Isabelle shrugged. "It hardly matters now." She said. "Anyway, after all of that…to find out that Remus was a…was a…" she gulped. "werewolf. I don't know, I just kind of freaked out." She sighed. "He lied to me." She whispered, her heart breaking a little bit with each word she said.

"Look," Harry said. "I know what it's like to have the only people you trust lie and keep secrets from you. And I know what its like to be an orphan, which only makes accepting those lies and secrets harder. But as hard as it is to believe, he only kept it from you to protect you. I'm sure Remus just thought you were dealing with enough without knowing about that too."

Isabelle could hear how childish she sounded next to Harry, and she felt ashamed. "You're probably right." She admitted. "But I can't –"

"Go in?" Harry laughed. "Sure you can, take it from someone who has stormed out of many a room. Those are good people in there." They started to get up. "oh and Isabelle," Harry said as they reached the door. "Next time you get 'freaked out' why don't you tell someone instead of running away, huh?"

Isabelle smiled sheepishly, touching his arm. "Look, I never did thank you. Not just for just now, but for last night. You didn't have to do that."

Harry shrugged. "Ginny and Hermione say I have a 'hero thing'."

"Yeah, that's not the only thing Ginny says about you." Isabelle said slyly watching Harry's face turn bright red.

"Oh yeah?" Harry asked, holding open the door.

Isabelle walked through it. "Yeah."

a/n – Okay so I know this part was really long, but there were a few unresolved issues that needed to be tackled. So yeah…almost finished. Please review! Compliments and criticism are welcome and encouraged. Till next time!


	6. Part Six

**Peroxide for the Wound**

**Part Six**

**Subtitled: Tell Your Story, You Don't Need to Say a Word. **

Quote: Children begin by loving their parents; as they grow older they judge them; sometimes they forgive them.

**Oscar Wilde**** (1854 - 1900)**, _The Picture of Dorian Gray, 1891_

Adelle placed a comforting hand on Remus' shoulder. "She already knows the worst of it, just tell her the rest."

Remus looked up at her, exhausted. "Someone once said the same thing to me about her mother." He said wryly.

Adelle sighed. "Look Remus, we all liked Sara. She was…well…she was a really nice girl." Adelle scrunched her nose distastefully. Coming from her, that wasn't exactly a compliment. "But she was never like us. You know that. She was just so sheltered. Maybe if she had gone to Hogwarts...or even if she'd been home schooled by someone a little less weird than her mother…well things might have been different."

Remus managed a small smile at Adelle's description of Mrs. Cummings. The woman had been very, very odd. She and Sara had lived in this weird little house, alone in the woods. She had reminded Remus a little of the witch from Hansel and Gretel – all sugar and spice but you couldn't quite shake the feeling that she wanted to eat you. He shuddered involuntarily at the memory

He n stood up. "Well I'd better get to it then." He said, reluctantly reaching for his wand. Adelle smiled at him encouragingly and gave him a little wave. He closed his eyes and with a pop he was back in his cottage.

"Hi." A small voice said. He spun around. Isabelle sat at the kitchen table, still in her pajamas, midway through spooning cereal in to her mouth. She eyed him warily. "Long night?" she asked wryly.

He sat down heavily next to her. "You could definitely say that." He took his wand out of his pocket and placed it on the table. "We need to talk."

"Are we breaking up?" Isabelle said, laughing nervously.

He smiled tiredly, the sun catching his grey hair. "Look we've both been keeping a lot of secrets and that's just not going to work anymore. We've got to stop acting like strangers."

"Remus, we are strangers." Isabelle said, rolling her eyes and turning back to her to her cereal. He wanted to play dad now? Who was this guy kidding?

"That's what you think." He said and took out his bag. He pulled out the leather photo album from his office. "I met you mum when I was nineteen. I was at the pub with my friends, and Harry's mum borrowed lipstick from her. I know, not the most romantic beginning." He opened the album to the first page. Despite herself, Isabelle put down her spoon and craned her neck towards the picture. Her mother, barely older than she, was standing with Remus. They laughed, tickled and giggled, her mother's chocolate curls swaying in the wind. Isabelle traced the picture lovingly, tears prickling her eyes.

"She was beautiful." She whispered, her heart breaking a little. Would this pain never end? Why was he showing her this?

"That was my thought exactly. I couldn't keep my eyes off her. She and Lily, Harry's mum –" he turned the page and pointed to a red haired girl, still in her school robes who was shouting at a boy who looked just like Harry. "well, they became fast friends. Of course Lily could have made friends with a dragon. Adelle was never all that crazy about your mum, but she only met her a few times because shortly after graduation she went to work for her dad in France."

"You look so young." Isabelle said softly, looking at a third picture. "Who are these people?"

"Those are my best friends. That's James, Harry's dad. The one winking is Sirius Black and the short one is Peter Pettigrew. "

"Why happened to them?"

Remus sighed deeply. "Well, Voldemort killed Harry's dad, as you know. Sirius was killed last month by a death eater, and Peter went over to Voldemort's side."

Isabelle looked up at him searchingly. "I had no idea." She said, horrified.

Remus shrugged. "Well, my friends, the Marauders, they knew I was a werewolf, and they didn't care. Your mum, though, well, she had an unusual upbringing."

Isabelle smiled despite herself. "I know. My grandma was completely mental. She used to scare the hell out of me when I was little."

Remus grinned. "You and me both, kid. Well anyway, about six months after we met, your mum and I got married. The first war was on and so everything was pretty hush hush." He turned to yet another picture. Harry's parents were staring at each other adoringly, holding a newborn. Sirius was winking at some woman Isabelle couldn't see. Adelle was staring boredly at her nails. Peter was chugging a butterbeer and her parents were clasping hands. They looked happy. She looked up at Remus, who was staring sadly at the picture.

"You were happy, weren't you?"

He nodded, smiling at her wistfully. "But then things got dark. Voldemort began to recruit followers from all over, including werewolves. Dumbledore created a band of sorts, separate from the ministry, devoted to defeating Voldemort. It was called the Order of the Phoenix. But shortly after your mum and I were married, it became known that there was a spy in the order."

"They suspected you." Isabelle said.

Remus nodded. "It wasn't me, of course, but it was a strange time, and even the Marauders kept their distance from me. I don't blame them, of course. James had a family to protect, and Sirius was a little accusation happy. His family was all Voldemort sympathizers. Anyway, about nine months after we were married, you were born." He turned to a picture of the two of them. Isabelle looked to be barely a week old, wrapped in a fuzzy pink blanket, Remus kissing her forehead and smoothing what little hair she head. "See," he said, smiling at her. "We actually go way back."

She smiled weakly back. "So what happened?"

He ran a hand through his grey flecked hair, and took a deep breath. "Well, I became worried that Lily would tell your mum that I was a werewolf. She didn't know you see. I was young and in love and everything happened so fast. I never meant to lie to her, I just didn't want to ruin things. So when you were about three months old, I told her the truth. She left me and took you with her. A few years later, she sent me a note saying that she had remarried and that she – and you – were happy. So I stayed away. You had a normal life, and I had nothing to give you. Not like Jonathan."

"All of this because of one night a month." Isabelle said, shaking her head sadly. He had lost everything because on one night a long, long time ago. It was terrible.

Remus smiled wryly. "To be fair, I was pretty awful that one night, not that she knew of course, I had the sense to go elsewhere for my transformation."

"It doesn't make it right." Isabelle said, shaking her head bitterly. "It's not right at all!" She was filled with the unfairness of it all, and with shame at her own prejudice, her own selfishness. She always ruined everything.

He touched her arm gently. "No, it's not right. But it was what it was. Isabelle you've got to learn to make some peace, or anger will consume you."

"I shouldn't have to make anything." She said fiercely. "And neither should you. You didn't ask to be bitten. I didn't ask for that stupid car crash. I mean, sure, I probably should have let him concentrate and all, but I really wanted to go to that party, and he just wouldn't listen –" she was babbling now and tears were falling free and fast down her cheeks.

Remus looked at her, alarmed. "Isabelle, what are you talking about?"

"Its my fault." She sobbed, her head in her arms. "It's all my fault. It was raining that night, and I wouldn't lay off of him about that stupid party. He was all distracted, he should have been driving, not listening to me." Her whole body was shaking and she gasped for air.

"Isabelle, look at me." He said severely. "Look. At. Me."

Isabelle lifted her head and faced him, her body still wracking with sobs. He grasped her roughly by the shoulders. "Sometimes things happen in life. Things we don't ask for or want, things that break our heart and sometimes the only thing that keeps us going is that that god damn sun keeps rising everyday." He said brutally. Isabelle hiccupped softly, staring at him wide eyed. She had never seen him like this.

"Look Isabelle," he said, calming slightly, though he still was so tense that he was stiff. "You have three choices. You can run from your pain. Forget about it, forget why it's there, never speak of it again. You can let it consume you, destroy your whole life. Or, you can acknowledge it, let it have its say, whatever that say is, and then move on. And I'm here to tell you, the brave thing isn't to pretend like nothing ever happened, that you're strong enough to handle it. The brave thing is to look someone else in the eye and say, I'm hurting."

They sat in silence for several minutes, the clock ticking softly in the background. "Remus," Isabelle said finally, silent tears falling down her face, her voice strong and sure for the first time in months. "I'm hurting."

He drew her close into a hug. "I know." He whispered into her hair as she cried. "Jesus, I know."

**a/n – One more chapter to go. I've been neglecting this story, but I've had a lot of time to write lately and have put up half of my other story, Mad World in like a week, so the next part should be up in the next week. Review. **


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